Belize is surrounded by beautiful corral reefs teeming with marine life. This means that sailing into the port and right up to a dock is impossible for cruise ships like the MV Explorer, and we passengers must tender a ride to shore. Loading onto the tender boats can be a little bit hairy for some of the older passengers with both the Explorer and the tender rocking and swaying in the waves. Thankfully, we had calm seas (by ocean standards) and all made it safely aboard.
Tendering a ride to shore in Belize
Tendering — well, doing almost anything — is a lot more fun if you do it with an enthusiastic Scotsman by the name of Dr. Iain Campbell.
Shannon sports the windblown look after boarding a tender with Iain Campbell
Once ashore, we set out on a tour to Lamanai, a set of Mayan ruins only accessible by boat. Our tour guide was the inimitable Captain Chino. I like a tour guide who cuts through the usual touristy schtick and mixes a healthy dose of personal opinion and patriotism in with the raw facts about a place. Captain Chino is just such a character: “Being a third world country doesn’t mean uneducated, it only means undeveloped. In Belize we are undeveloped, but we are smart and educated; and we are ready to grow. We might look very poor — and we are very poor — but we’re living in Paradise.” He was also full of practical common sense about traveling in a guided tour bus: “In 20 years of guiding tours I have seen many things. It’s un-Belizeable. Some people don’t want to stop me to go to the bathroom, and they end up, uh, peeing on the seats of the bus. This is embarrassing and not fun for anyone. We will have many stops to use facilities, but if you need to go when we’re not near a bathroom, tell me. I’m not kidding. We’ll find a tree for you to use or something. That would be much better for you and much better for me than going in your pants.” Well said, Captain Chino, well said.
The ruins were spectacular and fascinating, and we saw lots of wildlife both at the ruins themselves and on the way — spider monkeys, howler monkeys, iguanas, crocodile, many beautiful birds, and even a katamundi. These things weren’t exactly expected, but the preparation for the trip at least had us hoping for as much. What was totally unexpected, however, was the rollercoaster-like boat trip up the river to Lamanai. I think part of the reason Captain Chino likes living in Belize so much is that he gets paid to race up and down the river like a mad man, taking turns at breakneck speed and hydroplaning like crazy before accelerating out of one turn and into the next:
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